The rare papyrus found by chance

The finding amazes the specialists. However, they cannot determine for what or where it was intended. The rare papyrus found by chance is an important historical record.

The fragment of the letter is written in Paleo-Hebrew. This is the alphabet used during the First Temple era. It consists of four lines beginning with the phrase To Ishmael send. The rest of the words are incomplete.

The rare papyrus found by chance is 2700 years old.
Rare papyrus found by chance is 2700 years old.

Chance find

The director of the Judean Desert Scrolls Unit is Joe Uziel. He noted that it could not be determined exactly what was written or to whom the letter was addressed.

The deputy director of the antiquities theft prevention unit, Eitan Klein referred further details. He said that “papyrus was reserved for official correspondence.” The Hebrews used fragments of clay to scribble brief notes. And also animal skins for writing.

The scientists used the carbon-14 method and paleographic dating. Thus they determined the antiquity of the find. This confirmed its authenticity.

The Israel Antiquities Authority exhibited what they listed as an “extremely rare” note. The document was transported to Jerusalem from the United States. The find was made by chance. The note was recovered in the US state of Montana, under the ownership of a man who had inherited it from his mother. It was hanging on a wall of the house. The document would have been purchased or was a gift in 1965 from Joseph Saad. He was curator of the then Archaeological Museum of Palestine.

The small piece was carefully studied.
The little piece was carefully studied.

Long Journey

According to members of the research this scroll may have been acquired when purchased from a Bedouin tribe. They found it in a cave in the Judean desert in Israel. For Uziel, any discovery is a big deal. But finding a written word is another level. The rare papyrus found by chance is exciting.

“In fact, we can make a much closer connection with the people who lived in the past,” Uziel added.

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